Second Chance
by xxlostdreamerxz
Summary: What if L had recruited Misora at the conclusion of the LA BB Murder Cases? LxMisora


**Second Chance**

**By: **xxlostdreamerxz

**Disclaimer: **The first portion of this fic in "_italics" _is taken directly from Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.

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**First Impressions**

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_The station entrance had just come into view, and standing in front of it was an awkward, uncomfortable-looking man._

_ A young man, with an intense expression: there were lines under his eyes…so dark that she wondered if they were actually done with makeup. Like he hadn't slept in days – no, like he had never slept in his life. Like his sense of justice did not allow him time to sleep, since he had so many different cases to think about, battling unfathomable pressure on a daily basis._

_He wore a long-sleeved white shirt and blue jeans._

_His bare feet were crammed directly into beaten sneakers._

_Misora had a strange sense of déjà vu. Like she'd seen him or met him once before. There was something about him that reminded her of Rue Ryuuzaki – of Beyond Birthday. But the resemblance was backwards, like this was the original, and the other had been a copy._

Even though he was hardly blocking the entrance - she could have simply walked on inside – Misora drew to a stop beside him. Wide, bored eyes stared at her appraisingly for a long unblinking moment, before the man tilted his head in a strangely birdlike manner.

"Have we met?" she demanded, getting straight to the point. 

The man's lip twitched. "No."

"…"

Under normal circumstances, she wasn't usually this forward with strangers. However, before the man had turned away…scratching his leg with his scruffy shoe, a mournful expression on his face…she had caught the barest flicker of amusement in his eyes: he knew who she was.

"Are you certain?" she pressed, ignoring the fact that the man had bent down to manually scratch his itching limb. After surviving Beyond Birthday's (disgusting) antics, Misora doubted there was anything in the world that could faze her. The thought was depressing.

"I am a hundred percent certain, Naomi Misora," the raven haired man replied, unperturbed.

Misora stiffened noticeably, shifting her body into a loose defensive position. She did not take her eyes off the strangely pale figure before her. "Oh?" she murmured, mimicking the way he had previously tilted his head. "Then how is it that you're aware of who I am?" _You're not in the FBI and thus shouldn't have access to such information. So you are either L or a very…very creepy, stalker._

She rolled her eyes.

Right, like L would actually come to meet her personally at a train station.

So, stalker it was.

The young man nibbled light on his thumb; his wide, intense eyes meeting her suspicious ones. "Simple," he said evenly, his free hand fiddling with the frayed end of his white shirt. "I read your file," he admitted impassively. "It was quite interesting."

Her eyebrows rose.

Didn't the man know it was illegal to hack into the FBI mainframe? That the price of committing such felony was_ at least_a life sentence in jail? Misora's eyes narrowed. Her crazy hypothesis about the pale, raven-haired man being L seemed more probable by the second.

"You shouldn't have," she said coldly, pushing aside her thoughts.

The man shrugged. "Misora made me curious," he admitted, unafraid. "I wanted to know what it was that she was so ashamed of." Dark, indifferent eyes blinked innocently at her. "Is it wrong for me to want to satisfy my curiosity?"

"It is when you go against the law," she retorted.

He frowned.

"Naomi Misora had a strong sense of justice," he observed, as if stating a fact. The raven haired man noted the way her cheeks flushed in anger, belying the fact that she thought he was mocking her. His frown deepened; that had not been his intention. "It was…kind of you to let the child go. If you had killed him, as your superiors had ordered, then he wouldn't have a chance at redemption." His eyes were serious. "Justice is strongest where the heart is the weakest."

Misora's face was expressionless as she processed the man's words. It was…almost exactly what L had told her. Maybe…_just maybe_…this was L standing before her. "Are you…" she paused, choosing her words carefully. After all, it wasn't like as if she could just come out and_ ask_ him if he was L in the middle of a crowded subway. That would be an unforgivably slip.

The man's lip twitched._ Had she figured it out? _

"What is your name?" she demanded.

The young man nodded and answered, "Please call me Ryuuzaki."

_Just as Beyond Birthday had,_ Misora noted, shifting uncomfortably from side to side. _That was pretty much a confession, if anything._ With new eyes, she carefully studied the man standing before her**. _L_**_._ This was **L**. The century's greatest detective, advertised as solving every case imaginable, how great must his burden be, how much pain must he go through at every single moment …past, present, and future.

A burden so great it would leave you hunched over…

She couldn't help but pity him. Greatest detective or no, he was still human.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ryuuzaki," she stated, holding her hand out to shake his. A faint smile crossed her face as he hesitantly reached out and grasped hers. Like warriors on a battlefield, exchanging a firm handshake after surviving yet another bloody fight.

And then before letting go, L_ moved._

He pulled her hand towards him, causing her to almost lose her balance. The young man instantly leapt at her. Leapt at her? No, that's not right. He actually tried to throw his arms around her.

"Huh? No!"

Misora instantly bent backwards, brushing off the man's embrace, and moved smoothly on to the offensive. She lowered her upper body backwards, spinning once in the air and raising her back legs like a scorpion, slamming both heels down onto the man's shoulders. Both blows hit hard, and the impact knocked him off balance. With a thunderous crash, he tumbled down the subway stairs. 

Whoops. A little overboard.

Certainly, he had assaulted her, but Misora quickly righted herself and ran down after him. "Are you okay?" she asked, uncomfortably.

She had just kicked **L** down a flight of stairs…

He was lying on his stomach like a crushed frog. Tilting his head upwards, he gave her a pitiful stare as if puzzled by her violent reaction. There was a short silence as the two stared at one another, Misora in righteous embarrassment and L in curiosity.

"Watching videos and seeing it for real is quite different," he muttered, breaking the silence, seemingly talking to himself. "But now I think I understand…" L appeared comfortable on the ground, for he had yet to pull himself up. "You are a highly potent weapon, Naomi Misora," he stated, giving her his full attention.

She didn't know how to reply to his statement, so she just nodded. _Did he attempt to assault me just to test how well I can perform capoeira?_

"Ryuuzaki," she said, frowning sternly at him. "Sexual assault is a serious crime. You can't just go around throwing your arms around women…especially your subordinates'. What were you thinking?"

"…."

L gave her a baleful stare.

"My apologizes," he offered, not sounding even a tad remorseful. "I wished to ascertain whether you lived up to your nickname_, Naomi Massacre_." 

Her left eye ticked in annoyance.

The man had come at her,_ knowing_ that she was going to beat him up.

_He was absolutely barking mad._

"I see," she replied, kneeling down next to him and pulling him up none too gently. Misora watched, passively, as L assumed a position nearly identical to Beyond's strange crouch – with his knees to his chest. She sighed. "Just ask me next time, Ryuuzaki," she suggested. "I could have told you and saved you the pain."

L nodded. "Indeed."

The two sat in silence, the distant sound of a subway speeding away and people chattering rang about the station. Misora mentally sighed - she was now officially late; late for her first day as a returning member of the FBI. Lovely.

"Ryuuzaki…"

Dark, impassive eyes shifted towards her.

"Why are you here?" she asked, pushing a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. L never showed his face; the man was a practically a ghost. Misora couldn't help but want to know what had drawn him out of his seclusion.

He frowned. "Here?"

"Yes."

"Misora threw me down the staircase and I landed right there," he answered stoutly, patting the dirty gum infested ground.

Misora resisted the urge to shudder.

"You know what I mean, Ryuuzaki," she snapped. "Why are you_ here_ today of all times? Why are you talking to me?And more importantly_, why_ did you reveal yourself?" _Why me?_

The young man's expression hardened.

"Due to the particular nature of this case, I am convinced that, in the future, there may be cases where I'd need a pair of eyes and hands to reach where I cannot," he stated, alluding to the fact that he could not reveal his face in public. L shifted over slightly so that he was crouched only a couple of inches away from Misora. "Not to mention, you are highly intelligent, having solved B's clues and prevented his suicide," he said calmly, his gaze intense. "Additionally, you are skilled in capoeira and are thus capable of defending yourself if push comes to shove."

"…"

This time Misora couldn't suppress her shock. "Ryuuzaki, are you…hiring me?" she asked, disbelief written over her face. This couldn't be happening. It was simply too surreal.

"Yes."

"…You're joking."

L frowned, looking annoyed. "No, I am quite serious," he said bluntly. "I want you to work for me."

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**Note: **If you've enjoyed this fic so far, please **REVIEW! **


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